President Obama Must Demand This One Thing From Iran

The fight for American Pastor Saeed Abedini’s freedom is at a critical juncture.

The Obama Administration is in historic talks with Iran over its nuclear program. At no time in the past 35 years has the U.S. had more direct contact with Iran. The Nov. 24 deadline for these nuclear negotiations is quickly approaching.

We believe that this is a critical opportunity for President Obama and his Administration to directly and firmly demand the release of Pastor Saeed.

President Obama has promised that he would “leave no one behind.“

Just last week, we witnessed the extraordinary lengths this Administration went to in order to free Christian missionary Kenneth Bae and other Americans. We’re grateful for the president’s actions, but now it’s time to make Pastor Saeed a priority—to bring him home.

Quite simply, we can’t trust Iran to keep its word with any kind of nuclear deal when it continues to imprison and torment an American pastor simply because of his Christian faith.

Pastor Saeed continues to suffer from internal injuries and intense pain from beatings he’s received over the course of more than two years of harsh imprisonment. He has still not received the medical care he so desperately needs.

While Pastor Saeed shouldn’t be a direct part of any potential deal with Iran, these negotiations require mutual trust. Pastor Saeed’s freedom represents an opportunity for Iran to build that trust. The Obama Administration should not accept anything less.

The world is watching. If Iran is to be taken seriously on the world stage it must show that it is capable of acting in good faith. The release of Pastor Saeed—a U.S. citizen—would do just that. By freeing Pastor Saeed, Iran could generate goodwill and take an important step forward to show that it is capable of acting in good faith.

President Obama must demand this of Iran. He must do everything within his power to bring Pastor Saeed home to his wife and two young children in America.

Pastor Saeed’s wife Naghmeh is imploring President Obama to bring her husband home. She said:

“Once again, the United States is at the bargaining table with Iran. There is much at stake as both countries try to finalize a nuclear deal. With the deadline fast approaching, now is the time for the U.S. to demand the release of my husband before entering any deal with Iran.

“A final nuclear deal will require trust between the two countries; but how can we, the United States, trust Iran while it continues to wrongfully imprison my husband, a U.S. citizen, simply because of his Christian faith? How can we shake hands with Iran to finalize a deal while two innocent children would be left behind to miss their daddy and cry themselves to sleep, as they have done for the last two and a half years? How can we finalize a deal and walk away from the table, when the U.S. government has admitted we don’t have diplomatic relations with Iran and the door to directly negotiate for the release of a wrongfully imprisoned American will close when we walk away from the table?

“President Obama has promised that he would leave no man behind. Although our family is incredibly grateful for all of the statements and discussions that our government has had with Iran in regards to Saeed, the reality is that Saeed continues to suffer in the Iranian prison because of his Christian faith. The reality is that there are two children who in their desperation to hold on to memories of their daddy have paged through photo albums so many times that the albums are falling apart.

“The reality is that our family has been torn apart for the last two and a half years.

Nov. 24 is a critical deadline for nuclear talks. This is also a critical deadline for my husband—an important opportunity to finally secure his freedom. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity for the United States to demand my husband’s release. Simply put: There should be no deal with Iran without the release of Saeed. He has been wrongfully imprisoned long enough. It is time to bring my husband, my children’s father and a U.S. citizen, home.

Now is the time to bring Pastor Saeed home.